MUSICAL COURIER
14
February 8, 19 2 3
that of small pieces. With the exception of the Schumann sonata, op. 22, his program was the kind for which present day German audiences have little taste, comprising as it did only short numbers by Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin, Mac-Dowell, Grieg, etc. Should Mr. Henry return here, he should be advised to select a program which will give both the press and public a better opportunity to judge of his accomplishments.
It was pleasant, however, to make the acquaintance of Harriet van Emden in a recital in which she was accompanied in masterly style by Dr. Ernst Wolff. There is no question about her coloratura soprano being one of splendid quality. Her rendition of Lieder by Mozart and Mendelssohn showed that she is succeeding in her endeavor to develop her art along the lines of spiritual depth. A group of American songs by Grainger and Richard Hageman at the end of the program were interesting for the general public.
Other Americans heard here were Sylvia Lent and Arthur Hartmann, violinists, both of whom are talented masters of their instruments.
Another Promising Young Pianist
Of the pianists deserving special mention are Frédéric Lamond, in an all-Beethoven program, and his appearance here as usual partook of the nature of a Celebration.^ Following him was the young Russian, Maxim Schapiro, who already has a well-developed technic and a rare sense^ for tonal beauty. But a decided leaning toward the spiritual side is the advantage of the young and especially promising Josef Langer, a pupil of Robert Teichmiiller, who was heard in an extraordinary performance of Beethoven’s last sonata, op. Ill, and the Liszt sonata. I expect a big future for this young man.	Dr. Adolf Aber.
RUSSIAN BALLET, UNDER ANSERMET, OPENS GENEVA’S SEASON SUCCESSFULLY
New Society, Les Nouvelles, Formed—Szigeti in Successful Recital
Geneva, December 16.—The season opened with a most successful series of performances given by the Russian Ballet, under Ansermet’s direction. Thanks to the indomitable energy of M. Pictet de Rochemont, president of the Orchestra Romand, we are again in possession of our splendid orchestra, with Ansermet as leader, who, thanks to the invitation of the International Society for Contemporary Music, was given a chance to demonstrate his exceptional powers recently in Berlin in two concerts with the Philharmonic Orchestra.
Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastian, by Debussy, was the novelty of the second subscription concert, and whatever be the merits of these symphonic fragments—and they incorporate merits of a very high order—they seemed somewhat ineffective. Ravel’s second suite of fragments from his Daphnis and Chloë figured upon the same program, the first movement being replete with beauty, and the last, Dance générale, full of audible effort and handwork to the exclusion of true inspiration. Mme. Youra Guller delighted all with her beautiful rendering of Mozart’s C minor piano concerto.
The Spanish violinist, Juan Manén, delighted us all at the fourth concert with his beautiful rendering of the Lalo concerto. He was followed by Ravel’s Rhapsodie Espagnole. Lizst’s Dante symphony was given a fine reading by Ansermet, but the work can hardly be compared with his Faust symphony or the Hunnenschlacht, with which works it has a certain analogy.
Szigeti in Successful Recital.
Josef Szigeti, with the very highly artistic collaboration of the pianist, Walter Frey, gave a recital, playing the D minor, sonata of Brahms, the E minor partita of J. S. Bach, the well known Chaconne and Tartini’s G major sonata, followed by Le Printemps, by Darius Milhaud, Danses Slaves, by Dvorak-Kreisler, and a Tarantella by César Cui. Szigeti’s playing was as wonderful and impeccable as usual, while his rendering of the Chaconne was exceptionally impressive, often as one hears this monumental work.
Les Nouvelles Auditions.
A new society entitled Les Nouvelles Auditions was recently constituted here, its inaugural concert being exclusively devoted to two hearings of Schonberg’s Pierrot Lunaire under the direction of the author and performed by his Viennese artists. While being impressive in spots, it is on the whole an ultra-cacophonic demonstration of unhealth and artistic degeneration, the continual striving to produce effects, at the cost of all flow and continuity of line, ending in dull monotony. After the first performance more than half of the audience escaped, preferring to avoid a repetition of their acute sufferings. I do not believe that one single example formulated by Schônberg in his Harmonielehre will be found in Pierrot Lunaire, and one wonders which of the two is the real Schônberg. Perhaps he wrote the extremely orthodox Harmonielehre in order to show what the modern young composer should avoid, Pierrot Lunaire being given as an example of how to avoid it.
Beckmesser.
Mikova Pupil in Recital
Marie Mikova, well known concert pianist and teacher, presented Rosamond Borland in recital at the residence studio of Miss Mikova, 1187 Madison avenue, New York, on’ Thursday afternoon, January 18. Miss Borland, who played a varied and interesting program, scored an excellent success. She sailed for Paris on January 20. On her return to New York next season she will take up her work as assistant to Miss Mikova.
Jan Van Bommel Heard at Glen Gove
The Dutch baritone, Jan Van Bommel (he will be a naturalized American in, three months) was an attraction at the Community Hospital concert at Glen Cove, L. 1״ January 31. He was assisted by his excellent pupil, Mrs. Weygandt, the soprano, and Miss Berghuis-Drake, accompanist. His recent recital at Aeolian Hall, New York, produced many favorable press comments.
SIEGFRIED WAGNER’S OPERA, REVIVED IN
LEIPSIC, PROVES ITS BARRENNESS
Schonberg’s Five Pieces Greeted by Silence—Americans Concertize in Leipsic with Success
in the morning, where Leipsic’s musical intelligentsia usually gather, there was a spirited combat between the enthusiastic and applauding admirers and the equally active enemies-of this modern music.
Those who look upon this music with complete objectivity will find as little reason for the boundless enthusiasm of some, as for the passionate repulsion of others. The composer’s effort in this music is frankly to enrich—or I might say, to exhaust to the nth degree—the color scheme of the modern orchestra, and this effort has been achieved in various places. One hears colors of such finesse and subtlety as are scarcely to be found anywhere else but one also hears specimens of the grotesque and ghostly that are simply masterpieces of their kind.
Naturally, one wishing to get any correct impression of this music must first discard his ideas concerning melody, movement, development and concord. Even so, no one will find a lasting satisfaction in these pieces foi־ it is doubtful if their value will be a permanent one. They are offsprings of our troublous times, will remain as documents of this day and age, and in this respect they will have a certain value. Whether musical development of the future will decide on this style of art, only history will tell.
Josef Marx’s Concerto Played by Gieseking.
Another novelty on the Gewandhaus program was the new piano concerto by Josef Marx, of Vienna, which had an ideal interpreter in Walter Gieseking. The piece is called a Romantic Piano Concerto and with this title one can readily agree. But it should be said that Marx uses the Romantic title in order to revel in a boundless indulgence in color effects almost bordering en fanaticism. For long stretches one has the impression of hearing a symphony with piano, but Marx, being an excellent pianist, also knows how to write effectively for the instrument and gives ample opportunity for virtuoso display.
In the same concert Furtwängler revived an unknown symphony in C major, op. 16, by Boccherini, in a revised edition by Robert Sondheimer. The advance press notices of this work led us to expect a lot more than we actually got. It was said to be the first work before Haydn’s time containing a broadly worked out development. However, in this respect it was a disappointment, since there are now available any number of compositions, especially of the old Mannheim symphonists, which display this principle to a superior degree.
Furtwangler’s Schubert.
From among the other works of the old classic school which Furtwängler selected in good taste, I wish to mention only the big C major Schubert symphony, and even if he did tread his own path in its interpretation, nevertheless he is perhaps the only conductor who has given the work in its truest character. While the Gewandhaus audience did not enthuse over the performance, being long accustomed to the warmer and tenderer conception of Nikisch, Furtwängler must be given our sincerest thanks for his achievement.
Besides Furtwängler, we have had in the Gewandhaus Carl Straube, who at present occupies the position once held by John Sebastian Bach as cantor of the Thomas Church. He offered on this occasion Handel’s Oratorio, Jeptha, in the arrangement by Max Seifert. It is no easy matter to keep a present-day audience interested in such a work, but Straube’s conducting was so intensive that the audience warmed up to the work with sheer astonishment. He had an able assistant in Margaret Peisler-Schmutzler, whose soprano voice may be called noble in the real sense of the word.
,Americans Concertize.
As in most other large cities, Leipsic has had its flood of concerts this season given not only by the German artists who appear here annually but also by a great number of foreigners, including Americans as well. Among the latter were Harold Henry, pianist, whose special sphere is frankly
Chev. ALFREDO MARTINO
TEACHER OF SINGING
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Studio: 435 West End Avenue, New York. Telephone Schuyler 8743
Leipsic, December 19.—After a long interim the Leipsic Opera has again produced an opera of Siegfried Wagner, but unfortunately the selection of Schwarzschwanenreich (The Kingdom of Black Swans) was anything but a happy one, the text alone containing its death germ. The way Siegfried misunderstands his father’s ideas is really astonishing. It is astonishing, too, to notice how the writer of this music secludes himself in Wahnfried, as safe from the outside world as one surrounded by a Chinese wall and just as oblivious of what is going on musically. The music of Schwarzschwanenreich is of the sort which might have been written in the fiftieth or sixtieth year of the last century and for a modern ear has no charm whatever and the orchestration betrays its having been worked out from a piano score. Lasting almost three hours, never exciting, never enthusing, and worst of all never arousing one to a spirited opposition, the work is at best a great bore.
The performance given the work, however,, is worthy of mention, since our promising young stage director, Walter Elschner, and the conductor, Otto Lohse, did their best to help the work on to success, and Liane Morting, as the heroine, was very capable. Siegfried Wagner was present and was the subject of much homage. .!Whether this was forthcoming because of his music or because he is the son of his father I should rather not decide.
Halèvy’s L’Éclair Revived.
Why the Leipsic Opera has just dug out of its dusty vault and brought to light another work is also a mystery to me. This time it was •L’Éclair, by Halévy, composer of The Jewess. It is harmless and pleasing music—nothing more. It soon disappeared from the repertory. For the rest, one goes to the opera nowadays principally to judge the merits of the numerous guest singers.
Schonberg’s Five Orchestral Pieces Greeted by Silence.
The greatest surprise of the season so far in the Gewandhaus was the presentation of Schonberg’s op. 16. It required no slight courage on the part of Conductor Furtwängler to offer this work to a Gewandhaus audience, which unfortunately, although justly, has gained the reputation of being a big obstacle in the path of progress. It was apparent, especially at the evening concert, that they wished to have nothing to do with such music as Schonberg’s, inasmuch as the response after the performance was one of icy stillness; neither applause nor signs of protest were heard—just perfect quiet. However, at the public rehearsals